


Places to Go, A Place to Call Home

by stormoftara



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Canon-Typical Violence, Dadster, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mad Science, Meta, Nonbinary Frisk, Past Child Abuse, Post-Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 20,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormoftara/pseuds/stormoftara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Undertale, Frisk decides they have somewhere else to go. Months later, Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus go to visit them, sparking a journey of discovery. Everyone deserves a place to call home.</p><p>...</p><p>This fic started with a question, why would Frisk leave Toriel at the end of the game? This is that answer, and so much more. #savegoatbro2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Freedom

“Frisk, you came from this world, did you not?” Toriel asked sweetly. She stood alone with the child on the mountain top, the rays of the sun shining like beacons of hope towards them. She kept the smile on her face, but it did not quite reach her eyes. She knew what the answer might be to her next question, especially after the young one had refused to be the ambassador, still she had to ask. “What will you do now?” 

“I have places to go.” Frisk looked away a bit sadly, almost as if they didn’t want to say that, but something was pulling them away from the monster they once called mom.

The warm rising sun shined down on the both of them. Toriel felt a bit like her heart was breaking, but she didn’t let it show. “Ah...I see....” Toriel turned away from the child, not wanting them to see the tears already forming in her eyes. “Well I hope I am not keeping you.” She started to walk away, but couldn’t help herself. She turned back and whispered in a voice that almost got swept away by the winds of Mt Ebott. “Frisk, I’ll see you around.” She quickly wiped the tears from her face, not really sure what else to say.

Frisk bounded forward, and leapt into her arms. “I’ll see you again, Mom.” 

Toriel was shocked, but she held the child, who was she could tell was silently weeping, in her arms for a moment. She didn’t want to let go, but she knew she had to.

Toriel placed Frisk back onto the dirt ground, and slowly walked away. She couldn’t turn back around now. It would break her if she did. 

Frisk stood on the mountain peak for awhile, watching as the golden rays of the sun peaked over the horizon, and started the brand new day.

…

The first few months of being on the surface were so busy for all the monsters. Having to find housing for all of them, meeting with the political leaders of the humans, trying to make sure nothing went wrong, Toriel barely had a moment to herself. She was helping Asgore with all of this, since she was still technically the Queen. Toriel couldn’t help but to think of Frisk from time to time, and wonder how they were doing. 

It was early one afternoon. Toriel was sitting in the garden outside her new school, watching her friends. Sans and Papyrus were joking around about something. Papyrus was her substitute gym teacher while Undyne was away on her honeymoon with Alphys. Asgore was pulling weeds from the garden he had planted at the school. Toriel felt at peace that day. Pretty much everything had been handled, and now they were free to live their lives on the surface. 

A sudden buzzing sound snapped Toriel out of her thoughts. Her phone had gotten a new text message. Alphys had updated her phone so that it would work with human technology better, or something, Toriel hadn’t really understood what she had been explaining. She opened the text message and saw it was from Frisk. It contained a picture of Frisk making a silly face, and standing behind her was a young man, with a face similar to Frisk, and the same mop of brown hair on his head. “Their brother?” Toriel wondered aloud, but her thoughts were interrupted when she got another text message.

“Come visit us?” Frisk had typed out, along with an address not to far from Toriel’s school. Toriel must have been smiling pretty big, because before she knew it, Sans was at her side.

“You got a message from the kid?” Sans said, looking over her shoulder at the phone in her paws. Toriel nodded quickly, her fingers awkwardly already typing out a reply.

“Would you and your brother like to come visit Frisk?” Sans hadn't seen Toriel smile like that in quite some time. He was about to reply when there was a sudden shouting.

“ARE WE GOING TO VISIT THE HUMAN?” Papyrus came bounding over. “I HAVE TO GO GET MY ACTION FIGURES I HAVE SO MANY MORE TO SHOW THEM NOW.” And with that he was running away again.

“I guess that's a yes then.” Sans looked down at Toriel who had finally finished typing out her reply. 

Toriel suddenly stood up. “I wonder if I have any pie I could bring over?” She whispered, her eyes wide as she ran off as well. Sans just chuckled.

…

They three of them arrived at a rather large house. The monsters didn't know much about human architecture, but it looked pretty old. The yard in front of the house had a little bit too long grass, and several toys were scattered here and there. There were huge green bushes, with some kind of big purple flower blooming in them, around the front porch. The house itself had yellow siding, with huge windows, bordered in white. The front porch was rather large, with several white pillars along the corners. While it wasn't perfect it still looked like a lovely place to live.

Toriel reached up her hand and rang the bell. She smiled as she heard the patter of feet running towards the door. The door was pulled open and from behind it came a very familiar face.

“Mom!” Frisk yelled in excitement. Toriel handed the pie she was holding to Sans, as she bent down. The little human wrapped their arms around Toriel’s neck their eyes filled with happy tears. 

Frisk was about to start rambling on about something, when the same young man from the picture came up from behind her, smiling. 

“You must be Frisk’s big brother then?” Toriel asked, standing up now that Frisk had let her go, and extending her hand for a handshake.

The young man laughed a bit and took Toriel’s hand. “Not exactly. Come in won't you?”


	2. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we see some of the story from Sans point of view. Enjoy!

Sans at times couldn't help but to notice strange things about the human. From the time he first met them and they turned around to shake his hand before he said a word, to their surefire determined way of walking, as if they always knew where they were going. It was as if they had done this all before. It gave Sans a sickening case of deja vu. It almost reminded him of when [redacted] and him had been experimenting with [redacted]. That machine had broke long ago though. It made San’s head hurt to think about it now, like thoughts were vanishing from his mind before he could truly think them.

But once they reached the surface, Sans saw on Frisk’s face an unsure expression. It made him feel something he had long ago abandoned. Hope. Maybe the days of never-ending deja vu were coming to an end. Maybe the nightmares of his friends being killed would stop. Now everything could be new again. Now he could rest easy. 

Sans didn't let the young human see him as he watched over them, as they sat at the edge of Mt Ebott swinging their legs. Toriel had long since left, but the human seemed lost in thought and had stayed behind. They watched as the sun rose before them, and then with a sigh, they began to move.

They walked in a lackadaisical way down the mountain, stopping to look at anything that caught their attention. Much like how Sans had followed them throughout the underground, he followed them now. He almost felt obligated to. They didn't seem lost, but there wasn't much purpose in their steps. It made tailing them difficult, especially in such unfamiliar territory. He almost felt stupid. He should be with his brother enjoying their first day of freedom, but here he was following the child instead. He'd make it up to Papyrus later. 

Eventually the human reached a town. They seemed nervous, but now more determined than ever. They walked up the steps to the door of a yellow house. Sans watched from across the street in the shadows. He had to know that Frisk would be okay. A young man opened the door, looked down and saw Frisk. He fell to his knees, crying hysterically, hugging Frisk. It took a moment, but Frisk hugged him back. 

Sans felt satisfied that the human was safe for now, and he took a shortcut back to his brother. He should enjoy himself, he knew there was a lot of hard work ahead for monsterkind. But for today? Today Sans just wanted to be happy.

Days and weeks flew by as the mass exodus of monsters began. Sans helped out Toriel and Asgore with a lot of the work. There were so many meetings. A lot had to be planned out. At the same time Toriel was starting up her own school. Sans wondered how she had so much energy to do it all. One meeting and Sans wanted to nap the rest of the day away. 

It didn't help that a lot of humans seemed rather cruel. Sans took Papyrus to an ice cream parlor one day, but the human behind the counter said they were closed as soon as they walked in, with her eyes narrowed. Sans had looked at the closing hours on the door before he walked in. It wasn't anywhere near closing time. Sans didn't want to start a fight, he was too lazy and he didn't want Papyrus getting involved. So they just walked out.

Of all the problems on reaching the surface, this was the worst. The younger generation seemed more accepting of them overall, but the older adults treated them a variety of ways, from ignoring them to outright hating them. Sans tried to protect Papyrus from it as much possible, but it was difficult. He talked to the Queen about it, but she had so many worries hanging over her head that it would have to take a back burner.

So who could blame Sans for looking up at the new human in a mistrusting manner? Now that Sans saw him up close he could see how much he resembled Frisk. There was no doubt they were related. Frisk took Papyrus by the hand as they all headed inside. Sans followed in the back, glancing around the house, like he was looking for clues to hate this new human.

The house was ordinary, maybe a little messy, but not like Sans could complain considering how his room usually looked. The entrance way with it’s white walls opened up into a living room. There was a fireplace to the far right side of the room. There was a comfy looking couch sitting across from a television, which was currently tuned to some cartoon. Stairs snaked against the wall leading to the upper floors, while to the left Sans could see a dining room and kitchen. Nothing seemed wrong about the house, in fact it felt rather comfortable and lived in. Sans had seen some human homes that were so clean they seemed almost fake. Those houses made him uncomfortable, like he couldn't touch anything. He was glad Frisk’s house wasn't like that.

Sans was so lost in thought he hardly heard the human male say “My name is Fred by the way. It's so nice to finally meet you all. Frisk has told me so much about the Underground.” His voice had the same excited cadence Frisk’s so often took. “Can I get you a drink?”

Fred was heading into the kitchen. Sans was still holding the pie, so he followed him into the kitchen. From behind him he heard Frisk. “Dad, me and Papyrus are gonna play with his action figures in here okay?” 

“Sure honey.” Fred replied.

Sans and Toriel, both in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, froze. As if they were echo flowers they both sputtered out “Dad?”

Sans noticed a look of worry on Toriel’s face, but he turned instead towards Fred. “Uh, how exactly old are you buddy?” 

“I'm 24, why?”

Sans and Toriel exchanged looks. They both had a lot of questions, but remained quiet for the time being.

“So, drinks?” Fred asked again when the monsters didn't answer, opening up the fridge. Sans noticed the door was covered in Frisk’s drawings, several of them even had a short skeleton wearing a blue hoodie, which made Sans smile. 

Sans looked in the fridge and said, “I'll take some ketchup so we can catch up.” Toriel and Fred giggled a bit, as Sans took a sip of ketchup right from the bottle. He placed the pie on the counter and stood back a bit, contemplating how to approach this situation. He vaguely heard Toriel asking for tea as both she and the human sat down at the table. Sans suddenly had an idea, one that possessed him and started his feet moving forward.

Sans walked over to the human, time seeming to stop around him as he did. Fear lit up in Fred's brown eyes as the lights completely vanished from San’s. Sans stood in front of the human and said in a firm but haunting way “Why was little Frisk on Mt Ebott by themselves? Where were you ‘dad’?” Sarcasm bit into his words. “Explain, or you will not be having a pleasant time.”


	3. Blame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the rating and the tags a bit, because things will get darker. Not exactly in this chapter, but soon. Enjoy!

Frisk had been so nervous at first to text Toriel, thinking that she might not even want to see them again, but happily Toriel seemed more than happy to visit Frisk, along with the skeleton brothers. They could feel a weight of guilt on their shoulders pulling them down further into a despair. Frisk was worried that they could remember the sins of their past. That everyone knew about the times they had done bad things. Sans certainly seemed to remember more than he let on. Frisk was worried that they all had known what was going on. That they had only treated Frisk with kindness so they could escape the Underground. That now that the monsters were free, they would all abandon Frisk, just like…

Frisk knocked all the bad thoughts into the back of their head and tried to concentrate on the action figures Papyrus was showing them

“THIS ONE”

“Indoor voice,” Frisk said kindly, not wanting to disturb the whole neighborhood. 

Papyrus smiled, “Of course Human, I am just so excited to show you this, it's a Mettaton with real karate chopping action!”

Papyrus could hardly contain himself as he held the Mettaton figure in his hand, switching a lever in the back which made his arm swing up and down. Frisk couldn't help but to giggle as Papyrus handed them the figure to try for them self.

In an instant, the room seemed to go cold. Frisk’s breath caught in their throat as they heard a voice coming from the kitchen, dark and brooding. 

Frisk’s mind went back to the time they had done the very bad thing, and Sans had been waiting for them in the Judgement Hall. His face had been hidden in the shadows formed from the bright light behind him. 

“Do you wanna have a bad time?” Sans asked, as Frisk clutched tightly onto their knife, and felt the weight of the locket around their neck. “Cause if you take another step forward, you are REALLY not going to like what happens next.” 

Against all logic, filled with curiosity and a perverted sense of determination, Frisk had moved forward. They had to know what happened next. They had done everything else already. It was sick, but Frisk felt a voice in their head telling them it had to be done.

But Sans was right.

They didn't like what happened next.

Frisk felt like they were on the verge of a panic attack when suddenly the world seemed to start moving again. Frisk could hear quiet words coming from the kitchen, and there was a bony hand on their back, gently rubbing it.

“Are you okay Human? Do you want me to get your father?” Papyrus said, his face concerned.

Frisk shook their head. “No, I'm okay. Let's keep playing.” Frisk forced a smile on their face to reassure the skeleton.

…

Toriel had a growing feeling of guilt, starting with the moment Frisk has called the man “Dad.” She had assumed that Frisk was an orphan, especially with how quickly they had started calling her mother. Now she knew that Frisk had parents, even if this young human was far too young to be their real father. Toriel calculated in her mind, if Frisk was ten years old, this man would have had them when he was just fourteen. Not impossible, but Toriel didn't want to think about it.

Fred asked her if she wanted a drink, and after Sans took the ketchup, a habit she frankly didn't understand, she asked for some tea.

Fred pulled out a pitcher, “Is iced tea okay?” 

“Why yes, it is rather hot out.” Toriel took a glass of iced tea between her paws as she sat at the table. Fred joined her, and Toriel was thinking of what question to ask first of him, when the room went dark. Toriel shivered slightly, her eyes moving towards Sans who was shambling over to Fred with a smile that would make most children cry.

“Why was little Frisk on Mt Ebott by themselves? Where were you ‘dad’? Explain, or you will not be having a pleasant time.”

Fred sat still in fear, but Toriel rolled her eyes. She grabbed San’s hand, pulling him away. “Oh please Sans, enough of the theatrics.”

The room returned to normal as Sans sat down at the table, taking a sip of his ketchup. “Can't blame a guy for wanting to put on a show.” San’s smile and voice returned to their normal jovial tone, his eyes danced back to their normal light.

Fred sat across from them, his hand upon his chest, his breathing quick, but slowly getting under control. He took a sip of his own drink, looking down at the condensation already forming on his glass. Finally, words seemed to find their way back to his throat. “You have every right to be angry with me, Sans?” Fred asked the last part in a questioning manner, and Toriel realized that she had rudely not introduced herself either. Sans nodded, and Fred continued. “I have been a terrible father. This was all my fault. I abandoned them.”


	4. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember the first chapter when everything was happy? Hahahahahaha!

Frisk thought of their life in two parts, before they fell into the Underground, and after. The things that happened before seemed like a distant memory in comparison to the things that happened after, as if they had happened to an entirely different person. 

Frisk had always loved the Underground, all the monsters had a special place to call their own. Sans and Papyrus had their slightly small house, but it fit them just perfect. Undyne’s house was as fiery as her personality, especially when it was on fire. Alphy’s lab was full of all the anime she loved so much. Even Toriel and Asgore, with their houses being echos of each other, both holding on to a painful past, were comforting in their own ways. Frisk wanted a place like that, but they never quite felt that way about any place they lived. They always felt out of place, an addition, like they didn't belong…

A faint memory came to mind, perhaps blurred a bit by time, but a dear memory nonetheless. Frisk was in their bed, cuddled up with their teddy bear. There was a young woman with long dark brown hair, narrow eyes, and wearing a blue and purple striped sweater she had knit herself, standing by the door. She was talking to Frisk quietly, while Frisk struggled to keep their eyes open.

“You know I will always love you no matter what, right Frisk?” her voice tinged with sadness. “Please never forget about me.” 

The woman turned off the light, and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack, just as Frisk liked. Frisk called after her in a tired way she wasn't sure the woman would be able to hear.

“I love you Mom.”

That was the last night Frisk ever felt like they belonged somewhere.

…

Sans sat at the table, looking at a distraught Fred. He thought that it might have been a bad idea to scare him like that, but he couldn't bring himself to care. After all, if what the man claimed to be true, that it was all his fault that Frisk had fallen into the Underground, he probably deserved it.

“What do you mean?” Toriel asked, her face still marked with some kind of guilt. Fred looked from her to Sans, and took a deep breath.

“I don't even know where to begin.” He said.

“I find the beginning is usually the best place,” Sans said, a bit more snarky than he had intended.

“The beginning? Well I guess that would be when Frisk was born. I made a dumb mistake. Me and Rise, err Rise is the name of Frisk’s mother, we were really young when we had them. Stupid middle schoolers, doing things no child should ever do. But I won't say it was all a mistake. After all we did get Frisk.”

The man paused, taking a sip of his drink, he was clearly uncomfortable spilling his life story in front of two practical strangers. He continued on anyway. “Well we were too young to take care of them ourselves, so for a time they were raised by Rise’s parents. They weren't always the nicest people to them, especially Rise’s mom. She would call Frisk a mistake, worthless, to their face. I tried to fight them, but I was just a kid, heck I am still just a kid.” Fred sighed deeply.

“Once Rise and I graduated from high school, we took Frisk away from them. We moved here, into my parent's house. Unfortunately my parents passed away shortly after that, but we were okay. We were a little family, as screwed up as we were. Everything seemed to be going great until Rise committed…” Fred stopped and looked at his glass as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Sans could clearly see tears in his eyes. Sans took a glance towards Toriel who had a look of shock mixed with something else he couldn't quite place. Sans didn't like this story.

“Err, Rise passed away. I couldn't take the pain. I shut down completely. I couldn’t take care of Frisk anymore, I abandoned them. I let Rise’s parents, those terrible people take care of them. So everything was all my fault. Frisk ran away from them, of course they would. I am the one to blame.” Fred was talking in circles, not thinking clearly, tears silently falling down his face.

Sans wasn't the best at comforting people, making bad jokes was more his thing, and he couldn't think of a single thing to say to lighten the mood. Thankfully Toriel was there.

She stood up and made her way to the side of the table Fred was sitting at. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, which he quickly reciprocated. “Shhh, my child. It's okay. You did your best.” She backed away slightly, keeping one hand on his shoulder. With her other hand she ruffled his hair a bit. Sans couldn't help but to smile. If there was one thing Toriel was amazing at, it was being a mother.

“Now why don't we all have some pie? Frisk? Papyrus?” Toriel called into the living room. Sans turned around to see something very unexpected. Papyrus was rushing forward, Frisk was in his arms laying motionless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think I should add any other tags, please let me know I'm not good at that kinda stuff.
> 
> A side note, since I won't get to it in the story, Fred and Rise named Frisk like that because they combined their names together. Dumb middle schoolers! At first they were gonna call them Frise, but that sounded too much like Fries, so they ended up with Frisk somehow. It kinda fit in with Rise's family anyway, since Rise has such a strange name.
> 
> Another side note, I actually added a part from chapter seven onto this chapter since I felt it fit better here, and I wanted to introduce certain themes earlier. I hope nothing feels too out of place.


	5. Friends

Papyrus was very great, and as such, it seemed only normal that the Human would be overwhelmed by such a cool guy. In fact, his shirt even proclaimed such a thing, even if he had written the cool part himself with a marker. Even still, the human seemed as if they were in another world as Papyrus tried to explain his amazing new action figures.

At one point the human even seemed at the point of tears, which made Papyrus want to get their father. Parents made everything better, and if Frisk’s dad was anywhere near as cool as Frisk themself, he could surely solve the problem. But Frisk reassured him that they were okay and they kept playing. They were probably just too full of emotion from seeing all the cool action figures.

It wasn't until the Human suddenly growled out “Shut up!” in a voice that didn't even sound like it belonged to them that Papyrus got really concerned. After all he hadn't even been speaking. Then the little body of the human went slack, falling over onto the floor. He didn't know what to do, but he knew it wasn't normal for humans to suddenly take naps. In a panic he scooped them into his arms and rushed into the kitchen.

…

“My child!” Toriel yelled out upon seeing the small figure in Papyrus’s arms. She immediately felt bad for calling the child her own after hearing that story from their father, but she had bigger concerns at the moment. “What happened?”

“THEY SUDDENLY DECIDED TO TAKE A NAP!” Papyrus yelled, forgetting to use his indoor voice for the moment. “WE WERE JUST PLAYING WITH MY ACTION FIGURES AND THEN THEY WERE LIKE THIS.” Papyrus crossed his bony brows.

Fred stood up and took them into his arms. He rested his hand upon their forehead. “They don't seem to have a fever. Let's get them into bed, and see if they wake up soon. Otherwise I'll take them to the doctor.” Fred’s face showed a combination of fear and concern.

The monsters followed him up the stairs. “You guys can go home, I can take care of them from here.”

“LEAVE THE HUMAN WHO SAVED US ALL? I THINK THE LEAST WE COULD DO WOULD BE TO STAY UNTIL THEY WAKE UP.” Papyrus said what they all had been thinking.

They followed Fred into Frisk’s room. The walls were a light sky blue while the floors were hardwood. They had various toys, legos, coloring books, and some stuffed animals scattered about. Their bed had a blue and purple striped blanket on it, as well as a little teddy bear. It was a cute little room, even if they'd soon be too old to play with a lot of the toys.

Papyrus and Toriel went back downstairs to bring up a couple more chairs, leaving Fred and Sans alone in the room.

“Sorry for scaring you before, I know I can be a bit bone chilling.” Sans said with a wink once Frisk was safely tucked into bed.

Fred gave a little laugh. “Guess everyone was being a little over emotional. I am glad that Frisk has such good friends that worry about their well being so much.”

“You know, after my dad, well disappeared one day, I took care of Papyrus, so I can understand how hard it is. Raising a kid on your own, it can just make you bone tired.” Sans winked again, throwing Fred into another tiny laugh fit. Fred was about to respond when Toriel and Papyrus returned.

They placed down the chairs around Frisk’s bed and all sat by nervously. Sans somehow still had the ketchup bottle from before, and took some sips from it. It was so quiet you could even hear the tiniest Froggit ribbit, but Papyrus broke the silence, thankfully remembering to keep his voice down. “What do we do now, I want to help my cool friend?”

Fred was the one to reply, “All we can really do for now is wait.”

The four of them watched the tiny child as they slept.


	6. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative chapter title: ANGST

Ever since the monsters had come into their house, that tiny bad voice in the back of their head had been growing louder and more angry. Frisk wanted to enjoy their time with Papyrus, Sans, and Mom. They wanted everything to be like it was when they were in the Underground. Mom baking them pie, Papyrus making silly puzzles and rambling about pasta, Sans making silly jokes and puns. But that voice kept echoing in their head.

_You don't deserve their kindness. You killed them all. You worthless child. You mistake. You burden. All you do is make everyone else miserable by your mere existence. You think you can be happy after all you've done? You shouldn't have a happy ending. After all you are a bad child. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad._

“Shut up!” Frisk cried out, unable to take any more.

_Never! Why don't you just disappear?_

Then the world went black.

…

Frisk listened in to the phone conversation when they knew they shouldn’t. Dad had called up their grandparents, and was talking in a low tone.

“Please, I can't take care of Frisk on my own... I can't handle this responsibility...Yes I know…” Dad hung up the phone and rested his head in his hands. Frisk rushed back up to their room and hid under the covers of their bed.

Frisk didn't want to go back. Not to the bad people's house, the people who claimed to be their grandparents. They were nothing like their mom, Frisk couldn't understand how they were related. They also couldn't understand why didn't their Dad want them anymore. Did he hate them now? Why was he abandoning them after Mom went to the better place? Did he blame them? Frisk missed her so much.

“Mommy.” Frisk cried while cuddling their teddy bear. “Mommy…”

…

Toriel stood in front of Frisk. She was asking them to prove themselves. Frisk didn't know how. They held the branch tightly in their hand, afraid to even move as the fire rained down around them. What were they supposed to do?

They had to prove they were strong. So with one last mighty swing, they brought the stick down across Toriel. Frisk gasped in fear as the monster fell to her knees.

“No…” they whispered.

Toriel made a sound of pain, but finally spoke. “You are stronger than I thought...” She gasped for air, her breathing becoming ragged. “Listen to me, small one… if you go beyond this door, keep walking as far as you can. Eventually you will reach an exit.” Toriel looked downwards, her eyes misty. “Asgore...Do not let Asgore take your soul. His plan...cannot be allowed to succeed.”

Toriel was grabbing her chest in pain. Frisk couldn't believe this was really happening. “No...please... mom…”

“Be good, won't you?” Toriel managed to lift her head, and despite the tears in her eyes, she was smiling. “...my child…”

Frisk rushed forward, trying to grab ahold of Toriel, but there was nothing left but dust to grab. Frisk fell down into the pile. Unable to cry. Unable to feel a thing. They sat there for a long time.

…

Frisk just wanted to color their picture, when they heard screaming from the other room. They put their hands against their ears, trying to drown out the noise they heard so often.

Then a hand roughly grabbed their arm, pulling them up, and they looked up to see Grandma.

“This is the reason you can't go out tonight and see that boy. This stupid mistake is why you have ruined your life, and mine.”

“Don't call them a mistake.” Mom cried out, walking quickly over.

“Oh yes, because this stupid baby was so worth a night of fun, right? You were a mistake too.” Grandma sneered back. Frisk started crying. “Shut up you stupid brat!” Grandma screamed, bringing a hand down to hit them. Frisk braced for the impact, tightly closing their eyes.

But it didn't come. Grandma let Frisk go, and they looked up to see Mom crying, her nose bleeding.

“You won't ever hit Frisk!” Mom cried out, bending over and wrapping Frisk in her arms. “Not while I'm alive.” Mom gave Grandma a scornful look, and she just left the room without a single word.

…

Frisk held the stick in their hand. A stick already coated with the dust of so many other monsters, and now Papyrus stood in front of them smiling with open arms.

“EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY ONLY TRY!” He smiled even wider.

Frisk looked at him with hollow eyes and replied in a voice that got swept away by the wind, “Not me…” They started shambling close to Papyrus.

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG! WOWIE YOU ARE GETTING BETTER ALREADY. I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS.”

Frisk held up their stick, and before Papyrus could move, they quickly brought it against his neck. His head fell to the snow. Frisk looked on with lifeless eyes. They were a bad child. They turned to walk away when they heard Papyrus speak from the ground.

“W-WELL THAT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED…” His body was already melting away into dust. “BUT… ST… STILL I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO! I… I… PROMISE…”

And with his final words, he was completely dust. Frisk bent over and whispered quietly. “I can't do better. S-sorry.”

That little voice in the back of their head seemed to agree, and told them to keep going. After all wouldn't it be interesting to see what happened next?

...

Frisk’s eyes were blurry, but they could hear so much noise going on around them. They didn't like being here, the chair was uncomfortable and they were still sleepy. Frisk held tightly to their teddy bear. They had been woken up so early. Dad said Mom was sick and that they had to go to the emergency room. Frisk thought that was strange, Mom had seemed just fine the night before when she tucked them into bed.

A doctor called Dad over, and Frisk sat in the chair, too tired to get up, but watched them with half closed eyes. Dad's face went pale as the doctor spoke. Frisk didn't understand what was going on. Dad walked slowly back over to Frisk and picked them up, kissing them on the head as he did.

“What's wrong?” Frisk asked.

“Mommy is gone...she's gone to a better place…” Dad started crying. Frisk dropped their teddy bear as they clung tighter to their father.

“No...please... Mom…”

 

…

 

“Mom why is Grandma so mean to us?” Frisk sat in their mother’s lap as she brushed their hair.

“It's a complicated story little one.”

Frisk looked up with pleading eyes. “C’mon mom, I am old enough to can handle it.”

“Frisk you are six.” Their mom laughed.

“Six is the oldest I've ever been!”

“Ha, true enough. Well you see when Grandma was a little girl…”

“Grandma was little once?” Frisk asked with wide eyes.

“Everyone was little once you silly goose. Anyway, when she was little, she had parents that weren't very nice to her. But she had an older sibling who always protected her. One day, they both ran away to Mt Ebott.”

“The place where the monsters are? Where no one ever returns?” Frisk asked fearfully.

“Mmmhmm. Your grandma lost sight of her sibling and ran back home, but the other child was never seen again.”

“That's really sad.” Frisk said crawling out of their mother’s lap and reaching for their teddy bear.

“You know that bear used to belong to them, the child who vanished.” Frisk’s mom said.

“Well I will always take good care of it, so it doesn't feel lonely.” Frisk said with a smile and a bit of a giggle.

…

 

Sans held out his arms to Frisk. Frisk couldn't take it anymore, all this fighting the same battle over and over, it wasn't worth it, it wasn't fun. They didn't care what happened next. They just wanted things to go back to how they were before. Laughing and fun with friends. No matter what that voice said, this had to end.

Frisk dropped their knife, hearing it clatter to the floor of the Judgement Hall, and ran into Sans arms. For a moment Sans held onto them, speaking softly. “You're sparing me? Finally. Buddy. Pal. I know how hard it must be to make that choice.”

He softly patted them on the head, ruffling their hair.“To go back on everything you've worked up to. I want you to know, I won't let it go to waste.”

Frisk was about to reply when Sans suddenly pushed them away roughly. They saw the bones a second too late…

They could hear a voice that sounded so far away now, like Frisk was hearing it from under water.

“Geeettttttt dunked on!!! If we're really friends...you won't come back.”

Frisk murmured out a cry no one could hear, “I’ll do better next time…”

The world was reset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might get to this later, but Grandma's name is Terca. I hope this chapter makes sense, I tried to make each little dream make sense, but in a story with lots of timelines it can be confusing. The part where they kill Toriel is Frisk's first run of the game. The parts with Papyrus and Sans are a different timeline, when they were on a Genocide run, or as Frisk likes to call it "the very bad thing"


	7. Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the description a bit, to more reflect where I want this fic to go. :3

Frisk felt like they had been dreaming for a long time. All of their dreams flowed from one to another, from good memories to terrible nightmares. Frisk didn't want to wake up yet, but for some reason a heavy feeling was upon their chest, or more likely, their soul.

Frisk managed to open their eyes. They looked around the room they were in, dismayed. There was nothing but blackness around them. It wasn't dark, just pure black. It made shivers go down Frisk’s spine. At first Frisk couldn't see anything else in the room, but then, like blurry vision suddenly clearing, they saw them. A small child sitting a bit away from them, their head resting on their knees, so Frisk could not see their face. They were wearing an oversized yellow and green sweater. It made Frisk feel nostalgic.

“Hello?” Frisk called out a bit timidly, walking over and crouching before the other child. “Are you okay?”

The child looked up. They looked oddly like Frisk, but they had a strange, almost terrifying, smile plastered on their face. They spoke in a familiar tone, “You are way too nice for your own good.”

Before Frisk could react the other child leapt up and pinned Frisk to the ground. “Just reset this pitiful world already!” The child snaked their hands around Frisk’s throat. “Reset! This world is meaningless! I want to destroy it all!”

Frisk grabbed the other child’s wrists, and was able to slightly lessen their hold on their neck. “Mercy…” Frisk was barely able to spit out the word.

“What?” The other child gave them a confused look.

“I am sparing you…” Frisk said with all their might.

The other child dumbfounded, let Frisk go roughly enough that Frisk’s head bounced off the ground. “Like I said, you are way too nice.” 

Frisk sat up, rubbing the back of their head. “I don't think being nice is a bad thing. Who are you? Where are we?”

“I am the demon who comes when you call its name.” The child smiled, but their eyes were full of menace. “You can call me Chara, it's so nice to finally meet face to face with you Frisk.” 

Frisk had no words, was this the voice in their head? The one saying terrible things? The one that had wanted them to kill all monsters? And then they realized why the name rang such a bell. Was this the same Chara that Flowey had mistaken them for the whole time they were in the Underground? It was a bit much to take in.

“This is the place inbetween. Between what? Games of course. Here is where you can reset this world, so we can play again. And do better this time.”

Chara waved their hands in front of their chest, and two white words appeared. They spelled out “true reset”. Frisk could feel their heart pounding in their chest. There was no continue option anywhere.

“You brought me here?” Frisk asked, still trying to wrap their mind around the situation.

“Yes. It was so boring watching you play family with your father. You know he would abandon you again in a heartbeat. He only took you back out of guilt. He didn't really want you back, he was just so scared that if you died the blood would be on his hands. He's more of a coward than you are.” Chara’s face seemed to be twisted into something inhuman.

“That's not true!” Frisk cried out.

“Heh. And your so called friends? They didn't even try to contact you, you had to text them first! Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and Toriel all have your phone number, but they didn't care. It's almost as if a part of them remembers you brutally murdering all of them! They all hate you. You miserable child. You couldn't even stay with Toriel when she wanted you to. You made her cry! You honestly make everyone else miserable just by existing!” Chara’s face almost looked like it was melting.

“Please...stop this…” Frisk knelt down, covering their ears with both their hands, but they could still hear Chara as loud as day.

“C’mon, let's reset this world now. Let's go back again. This time let's eradicate all the monsters and erase this world from existence.”

“I refuse!” Frisk screamed, dropping their hands to the side as they stood up to face Chara.

Chara was suddenly at their side, without any movement that Frisk could see. They grabbed Frisk’s wrist with such force it was sure to leave a bruise. They moved their hand in front of the reset button.

“SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL?”


	8. Laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Chapter Title: FLUFF :D

The four gathered around Frisk could hear them mumbling in their sleep. They couldn't make out the words, but by the expression they wore on their face, it seemed like they were having a nightmare.

“All this waiting is like trying to solve the junior jumble! I should go make them some get well spaghetti for when they wake up.” Before anyone could stop him, Papyrus leapt up with a laugh and ran out of the room.

“As much as it burns me up to say it, I better go make sure he doesn't light your kitchen on fire.” Sans said with a wink, leaving the room with a lot less vigor than Papyrus had.

Toriel and Fred both laughed a bit. Now that it was just the two of them, Fred felt a bit uncomfortable with the silence. “Are you a mother Toriel?”

“Well…” Toriel looked down at her hands. “I used to be. I had a son named Asriel and an adopted human child named Chara. Unfortunately they both passed away many years ago.”

“Ah, I'm sorry about that.” Fred looked over at Frisk with care.

“It was a long time ago now. I guess that's why I was so happy when Frisk wanted to call me their mother. I hope that doesn't bother you.”

“Nah, it's okay. As long as that's what Frisk wants, I am fine with it. They care about you a lot.” Fred smiled. “They always talk about your butterscotch cinnamon pie!”

Toriel laughed a bit. “As bad as it sounds, I am glad they fell into the Underground. They really are quite the special child. I guess now I know why they were so determined to leave. They wanted to get back to you.”

Fred beamed with happiness. “That's what they told me! I honestly thought that they must hate me after all I put them through, but they didn't. When they first came back they apologized to me for running away! I could hardly believe it. I was the one who needed to apologize. And then they told me all about the Underground and all the friends they made. It was such an incredible story. I can't believe my little Frisk had so much kindness in them after all the bad things that happened to them. They really are special.”

…

Sans sat at the table, his head tilted backwards on the back of the chair, watching Papyrus raid all the cabinets. “You know bro, humans like chicken noodle soup when they are sick.”

“Ah, but my spaghetti is legendary. I, the great Papyrus, will make them a plate of pasta so perfect, they will never fall ill again!”

“C’mon, It'd be soup-er!” Sans chuckled.

“Sans honestly, Dad could make better jokes than that.” Papyrus said, pulling out a box of bow tie pasta.

Sans straightened himself and turned around in his chair. “Wait, you remember dad?” Sans eyes sparkled with hope.

Papyrus paused for a moment, placing the pasta down on the counter. “No...I will am not sure why I said that.”

Sans sighed. “Well I still think we should make the soup, what are you, chicken?”

“I’ll have you know the great Papyrus never backs down from a…” Papyrus suddenly frowned. “Was that a really lame pun?”

“Maybe.” Sans said, trying to hold back laughter.

“SANS!” Papyrus pounded the ground with a foot.

“Heh, but you are smiling.”

“I am. But not because it was funny, but because it was so unfunny!”

Sans got up and spied a can of chicken noodle soup in the cabinet. He wanted to spare the human from Papyrus’s special cooking. “Look bro, chicken noodle soup.”

“Sans you lazy bones! I am a professional. I don't resort to using canned food!” Sans placed the can on the counter and opened the fridge.

“Yeah, but we can spice it up.” Sans pulled out a bag from the fridge. “Hey bro, what's orange and sounds like a parrot?”

“Oh I know this one! It's that cartoon cat that reminds me of you so much!” Papyrus struck a pose in triumph.

“Nah, a carrot.” Sans smiled, showing his brother the bag of carrots.

“SANS!”

…

“That child will flirt with anything! I swear I once saw them flirt with a rock!” Toriel laughed, holding her side. “A _rock_.”

“Oh don't I know it!” Fred was smiling brightly. “They got in a fight with a kid at school, and they asked him for his phone number!”

Toriel and Fred sat in Frisk’s room, laughing, while they could hear Papyrus loudly yelling downstairs about what ingredients to add to his dish.

A scream suddenly filled the room. “HELP ME!”

Fred got up and ran to his child's side. “Frisk are you okay honey?”

Toriel was at their other side, and grabbed their hand. “It is okay my child. You are only dreaming.”

Papyrus bashed into the room holding aloft a bowl of soup. Toriel looked to her side and saw Sans standing there when he clearly hadn't been there a moment ago.

“IS THE HUMAN OKAY?!” Papyrus asked, running to Fred's side, “DO THEY NEED THE SOUP NOW?”

“I think they are having a really bad dream.” Fred said, concern marking his face.

The four of them stood by Frisk side when

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes it ends in the middle of a sentence. 
> 
> Also, accurate depiction of Papyrus this chapter: http://stormoftara.tumblr.com/post/141480406465


	9. Existance

Frisk was using all their strength to hold back, they would not let Chara take control. They couldn't touch that button. Even if it meant staying in this world forever, they would not take away everyone's happiness. 

“HELP ME!” Frisk screamed.

“But nobody came.” Chara said in a mocking tone.

But oddly, Frisk could feel their friends and family, almost as if they were all by their side. That feeling filled Frisk with DETERMINATION. And they could feel another presence in the room, one they knew all too well.

A vine suddenly came and wrapped around Frisk’s middle, pulling them high into the air. Chara, who was still holding onto Frisk’s wrist, went flying up too. Frisk, without thinking grabbed ahold of Chara with their other hand so they wouldn't fall.

“Asriel!” Chara screamed in rage, gripping onto Frisk for dear life.

A small golden flower popped up from the ground. He placed the two children on the ground, letting Frisk go from his vine, while wrapping Chara in another. Chara’s face looked downright demonic, black ooze dripping from every orifice. Frisk couldn't even bare to look at them.

Frisk sat on the ground, and allowed themself to catch their breath. Everything had happened so quickly. Frisk could feel a growing amount of guilt. Asriel, the one who really broke the barrier, the one who saved all of the monsters, he was the one that Frisk had been unable to save. And now he had saved Frisk again. Frisk wished they could repay him somehow.

Asriel pulled Chara closer to him. He talked in a kind, almost sad voice. “What are you doing Chara?”

“I just want to erase this awful world from existence. I can't do that unless Frisk resets the game.” Chara growled, their eyes glowing red. “Wasn't that our goal Asriel? Don't you remember… brother?”

“Chara...that was your goal. I just wanted to make you happy. And now, the idea of resetting everything?” Asriel’s face morphed into one that looked more like his own and less like Flowey’s. “I...I don't think I could do it all again. Not after that.”

“I don't want to have died for nothing! My whole life was misery! I want it to have meant something, can't you understand that? Frisk understands, their life has been nothing but misery as well.” Chara looked towards Frisk, their face turning more normal. “We can delete the world. There will never be pain again. No more being hurt, ignored, alone. Please Frisk.”

“Chara, you just want everyone to be as miserable as you are. Let Frisk be happy. Let Frisk live their life. Let them have their happy ending.” Asriel looked away from Chara, and looked instead towards you. He spoke in a gentle tone towards you. “You want Frisk to be happy too right?”

“Who are you talking to?” 

“The ones reading this story.” Asriel said, smiling. “Everyone wants Frisk to be happy.” Asriel’s face changed to a grim expression. “EXCEPT YOU CHARA.”

Chara started screaming, thrashing against the vines that wrapped them up. Their face was no longer recognizable. Frisk was pretty sure they weren't even human anymore, as Chara frantically tried to bite at the greenery. It wasn't fun to watch, it made Frisk feel sad. Chara, Asriel...they both were so sad, and Frisk couldn't save them.

Eventually Chara seemed to tire out and stopped moving. Their face had returned to almost normal, the only difference was that their smile was gone. “Okay, you win Asriel.”

Asriel slowly unwrapped the vines from Chara. Chara looked defeated. They spoke slowly, “Frisk, you decide, please choose the right thing.” 

Chara waved their hands in front of their chest again. Now there were two buttons. “true reset” and “continue”. Frisk thought they saw something else in that split second before the words appeared. A plan formed in their head.

Both Asriel and Chara watched as Frisk stepped forward. “Asriel, I want to save you.” Frisk looked down, their eyes full of tears.

“Frisk, no!” Asriel screamed. “You can't save me.”

But Chara also spoke up. “Yes,” a sly smile crossed their face. “Why don't you reset, then you can save him.” 

Frisk bent down and patted Asriel’s petals, ignoring Chara. “Listen, Asriel, I know you think you don't deserve to be saved after all you did, but I did some terrible things too. If I deserve a happy ending, don't you?”

Asriel hung his head. His petals brushing the ground. “Frisk, it's impossible to save me. I know you want to, but you have to understand, in life sometimes not everyone can have their happy ending.”

 

Frisk just smiled, stood up, and walked towards Chara. “Chara, I get it now. You were inside me the whole time I was in the Underground. You were that voice in my head I thought was my own. And now I understand why. It's your soul Chara, your soul.”

“What are you rambling about you fool? I don't have a soul anymore.” Chara said scornfully.

“Asriel, start a battle with Chara.”

Asriel hesitated for a moment, but then he entered battle mode with Chara, curious as to what Frisk had in mind. Much to everyone's surprise, a red heart popped out. It looked faded and cracked, as if it could crumble at any moment.

“What?” Chara looked from Asriel to Frisk, bewildered. 

“Asriel, can you keep their soul like that? When you go back to the Underground? Don't attack, just do nothing. Wait for me, I'll be there soon.”

No one had words anymore. Asriel nodded his head in approval. Frisk finally went up and pressed the button...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy what's even going on


	10. Return

At first, everything was black. Frisk wasn’t sure where they were, but they felt strange. Like a weight had been lifted from their soul. They suddenly felt panicked, sat up quickly and looked around the room.

“I have to go to the Underground right now!” Frisk shouted out, startling everyone else in the room.

Frisk tried to bound out of their bed, but Fred put his hand on their shoulder. “Woah there Frisk. Calm down. You were having a nightmare.”

“No I wasn't! I have to save them!”

“Human, you are sick. Here eat this soup made by the Great Papyrus, it will make you feel better.” Papyrus laughed and pushed the bowl of chicken noodle soup into Frisk’s hands.

Frisk laid back and sighed, they had to get to the Underground immediately. It was so important. They didn't know how long Asriel could keep Chara locked in battle, or how long Chara could even last with such a fragile soul. They took a spoonful of soup to appease Papyrus, hoping if they did, then everyone would listen. The taste, it was indescribable. Too salty, there was a coying sweetness, and there were additional undercooked carrots and bowtie pasta added in.

“WOWIE. By that look on your face, that was the best soup you ever ate!”

Frisk placed the bowl on their nightstand. “Okay. I'm all better now, let's go to the Underground!”

“Child, what happened?” Toriel asked sweetly.

Frisk sat for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe the place inbetween without talking about resets. They really didn't want to get into resets right now, not when they had friends to save.

“Toriel, okay, I know this sounds crazy, but uhhh, I know a way to save Asriel and Chara.”

Toriel’s eyes widened. She sat down in a nearby chair, her hand on her chest, her breathing fast. “What do you mean? How do you know those names? Frisk, both my children died long ago…”

“Ugh! We are wasting time!” Frisk threw down both their hands on their bed like the child they are. They had one last plan. They looked at Sans, “I'm the legendary fartmaster!”

Sans didn’t reply. The lights in his eyes went out, as he stood by the bed. Everyone else looked at Frisk with confusion.

Frisk, feeling a bit creeped out by Sans lack of reply, went on. “Sans, please take me to the Underground. Back to where I first fell down in the ruins. It’s really important.”

“Honey, you just passed out. You might have had a bad dream, but it wasn't real. I can't let you go to the Underground in your condition.” Fred brushed some of Frisk’s hair from their eyes.

“Uh, Fred.” The lights came back into San’s eyes, as he slowly replied. “I think maybe they are being serious. Maybe they can save Toriel’s kids. That really immature thing they just said, it's my codeword. I only tell that to someone who is a time traveler.”

Everyone looked at Frisk with open mouths. “What?” Fred said, breaking the silence. “I can't even right now.”

Frisk smiled. “Dad, please let me go. Sans will be with me, and we'll be back really soon.”

“Sure, why not?” Fred threw his hands into the air and looked dismayed, like reality was crashing down around him.

“Dad, please don't get upset, I'll explain everything when we get back, I just need to go, Chara’s soul, I don't know how long it'll last….” Frisk looked supremely worried.

“Their soul? But... Chara’s soul vanished a long time ago.” Toriel ran a hand through the fur on the top of her head. “Unless...did you say the place where you fell down? That's where I buried Chara. My Child, just what are you planning?”

Frisk felt frantic. “It's way too much to explain. Please Sans, please we have to go now!”

Sans was still lost deep in thought, and took awhile to respond. “I can take you to just inside the barrier, that's the furthest I can go from here. And even that will take all my magic. We'll have to walk the rest of the way. And pal, you need to calm down. Rushing isn't going to do anyone any good. Whatever is going on, it can wait.”

Frisk took some deep breathes. They realized how crazy they must sound to everyone right now. Asriel was with Chara now, he'd protect their soul until Frisk could get there. Even so, Frisk couldn’t help but to think of how fragile Chara’s soul looked. They wanted to get here as soon as possible.

Frisk said in a voice calm and steady. “Okay, Sans. Sorry, I just really want to save them. So Dad, is it really okay if I go?” 

“Frisk I don't know what's going on, but if it's that important to you, you can go.” Fred felt resigned.

Frisk was finally allowed out of bed. They hugged their dad. “Thank you so much! I promise I will explain when we get back. Oh, I guess I should pack some supplies!” Frisk grabbed their backpack, and emptied out all the homework they had yet to do. 

“I will make sandwiches!” Papyrus laughed, running out of the room. 

Toriel rushed out of the room. “I'll help him. Oh, and I'll pack up a slice of pie for each of you!”

Fred watched as Frisk ran around the room, stuffing a flashlight, a sweater, and after some deliberation, their teddy bear into their backpack. “Frisk, are you going to be okay? This is happening so fast. I'm worried.”

Frisk ran over to their father and hugged him tightly again. “Please don't worry. I can take care of myself. I promise this is really important. Me and Sans will be back before you know it.”

“Okay.” Fred looked over at Sans. “Promise me that you'll keep Frisk safe.”

San’s face looked serious for once. “I promise, no joke.”

The three of them headed downstairs. Papyrus and Toriel were at the counter, putting the final touches on the sandwiches. “Really, Papyrus, you can not put ice cream in a sandwich.”

“I PUT IT IN THE SOUP AND THE HUMAN LOVED THAT.” Papyrus proclaimed dramatically. Frisk cringed a bit. 

“How about we put mayonnaise on instead, look it is white just like ice cream.”

While the two monsters were arguing Sans opened the fridge and grabbed another bottle of ketchup. He placed it in Frisk’s backpack with a wink at Frisk, and Frisk giggled a bit.

The sandwiches and pie were packed up and given to Frisk. Frisk hugged Toriel, their Dad and Papyrus.

“BE CAREFUL HUMAN, MAKE SURE SANS STAYS OUT OF TROUBLE.” Papyrus yelled.

Frisk grabbed Sans hand. They looked back and said, “I'll be careful. I promise everything will make sense once we get back. I love you!”

Sans and Frisk walked out the front door and into Asgore throne room.


	11. Forgive

Fred sat down on his couch in the living room. First his child passed out, and now they were off on some crazy adventure he didn't understand. Papyrus was rubbing his back. Toriel brought over a cup of freshly brewed tea and placed it in front of him, before sitting down herself.

“So let me get this straight. My child is a time traveler and Sans can teleport. Is there any other magic abilities I should know about?”

“I CAN DO THIS!” Papyrus yelled, and a bone, wearing a safety helmet, riding a skateboard also made of bone, glided across the coffee table.

Fred picked up his cup of tea and drank it. “This is fine.”

“I should call Asgore.” Toriel said, standing back up. “I do not know if Frisk can really save my children, but if they can, I want Asgore here.”

Toriel stepped into the kitchen to make her phone call.

Fred looked around his living room and suddenly stood up himself. “Oh my god the king of all monsters is coming over to my house and it's a mess! I have to clean!”

…

The kid saying his codewords, it was like opening up a floodgate, and all the memories had come rushing back to Sans. Memories he could not believe. He didn’t want to believe. This kid was the reason why his Time Anomaly Detector had been showing him so many rifts in time. All sorts of different timelines seemed to converge down on Sans all at once. It was a bit much for him to handle.

Sans had been having nightmares for quite some time now. Terrible dreams in which Frisk had come to him in the Judgement Hall, covered in dust, smiling. Smiling like their life depended on it. But their eyes, they were cold and dark. It was a stark contrast that gave Sans chills. Now Sans knew those nightmares were real. Not only that, he’d killed this kid more times than he could count.

Sans felt bad about making that promise to Fred. After all, he had been unable to keep that same promise to Toriel. Sans hated making promises. Sans couldn’t help but to ask, as soon as they found themselves in the throne room, “What made you do that kid? Why did you kill everyone before?”

Frisk let go of San’s hand, and wrung their own hands together guiltily. “You do remember.” Frisk looked sad, and even a bit scared.

Sans couldn’t believe that this was even the same child from those timelines. This caring child, who wouldn’t hurt a fly, never mind a monster, had at one point hunted down and killed every living creature they could find. It didn’t make sense.

“I’m sorry.” Frisk bent over, their hand was grazing over the many golden flowers still blooming in the throne room even without the care of the king. “I did a bad thing.” Sans couldn’t see it, but Frisk had silent tears flowing down their face.

Sans bend down to pat Frisk on the shoulder, when suddenly they curled up in a ball, their hands protecting their face. “Please don’t hit me!”

Sans was stunned. “I’d never…” He couldn’t finish that sentence. Obviously he had hit the child before. Killed them dozens of times. Sans could feel the weight of his sins on his shoulders. “Listen Frisk. Whatever happened in those other timelines, it doesn’t matter now. You proved that even the worst person can change. You did the right thing. It’s okay now.”

Frisk took their hands away from their face. “You aren’t mad at me?”

“Nope, and I can’t patella lie.” Sans said with a wink.

Frisk giggled a bit. Frisk sat back up, wiping their face with their arm. “It’s been so hard Sans, I’ve had all these bad memories. Memories I can’t tell anyone else. I’ve been so scared. No one has remembered all the bad things I’ve done but me.”

“Buddy, I have memories like that too, I can relate.”

Frisk stood up suddenly. “You have memories like that too? You mean the ones about me?”

“Actually, no. Different memories. How about I tell you a story?” Sans offered his hand to Frisk, who after a moment took it.

Frisk looked intrigued. “What else are we gonna do during the walk?”

“You're right” Sans laughed. “Okay it happened long long ago, in a galaxy far far away.”

“Sans!”

“Heh, okay, it all started when I was fourteen and Papyrus was just eight...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short! Also, this chapter gave me a hell of a time and I probably rewrote it 4 times, and then I realized I referenced something I had edited out of it previously in a later chapter, so I had to rewrite it again UGH IT IS DONE NOW. Next chapter is like six pages long so it will actually have lots of plot and things will happen and be amazing! SO LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW.


	12. Anomaly

Asgore’s greatest creation sat before him. He had been working hard all afternoon, after Toriel had left to go see the child. He had wanted to go as well, but Toriel had given him the look. The one she liked to give so much. The look of absolute disgust. She could be a pretty terrifying woman when she wanted to be. Just the thought of that look sent shivers down his spine. 

Asgore looked up at the hedge he had clipped into a perfect replica of Papyrus grinning widely. It was perfect. He couldn’t wait for them all to return so they could see it. Papyrus would be thrilled. Toriel, maybe not so much.

His phone started ringing. He put down his hedge clippers and answered it. He was surprised to hear Toriel’s voice on the end. “Asgore?”

“Toriel? Is something the matter?”

“Well you see, it’s about Frisk…” Toriel sounded uncertain. “They said they might know a way to bring back our children, Asriel and Chara.”

Asgore nearly dropped his phone. “What?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but we are talking about the child that broke the barrier. I find it in my heart to believe them. I think you should come over here. I will explain more once you arrive.”

“Yes, I’ll be there soon.”

…

Sans was always excited to go visit his father’s lab. He was the Royal Scientist after all, and all his cool inventions always sparked his imagination. Papyrus on the other hand, was not so excited. He sat at the table poking at a beaker.

“Dad! I’m BORED!”

“Hello Bored, I’m Dad!” Gaster replied.

…

“Wait a second.” Frisk interrupted San’s story.

“What’s up kid?”

“Your dad’s name was Gaster? Like WD Gaster?”

Sans paused before speaking again. They had just entered the core, and it was already pretty hot. Sans didn't really like it here. “How do you know that?”

“I...It’s weird. I met this really strange gray guy. He talked about the former Royal Scientist. He said one of his experiments went wrong. But then he said he shouldn’t talk about someone who was listening, and he vanished.” Frisk shivered despite the heat. “It really freaked me out. I didn’t understand what he was talking about. But Gaster was your father?”

Sans smile seemed to grow. Someone else knew about Gaster. Someone else remembered. “Yup. Let me get back to the story. You’ll understand.”

…

Papyrus groaned at his father’s lame attempt at humor, while Sans just laughed. “Good one dad.” He said, giving Gaster a high five.

“Now Sans,” Gaster said, after returning the high five. “Do you know what this machine is?”

“Nope.” Sans looked at the machine before him. It was rather small, had a tiny screen, and a few dials and buttons on it. It looked like something out of science fiction.

“This machine is used to detect anomalies in the time stream. And why do you think we’d need that?” 

“Oh I know! Its for the time machine you are building right?”

“You are so smart kid!” Gaster patted Sans on the head. Sans thought his father was the coolest monster in the whole Underground. He was a tall and lanky skeleton, with grin that looked much like Sans, but his skull was more shaped like Papyrus. He almost always wore his lab coat, even in their home in Snowdin. When he didn’t, he wore a gray turtleneck sweater that looked awful smart. Yup, he was the epitome of cool. Sans wanted to be just like him when he grew up.

Gaster continued with his explanation. “So if we can find a big enough time anomaly, we can use the time machine to go back to before the barrier was even put up, not only saving all monsters, but making it so we never had to live Underground in the first place.”

“Wait, I don't get it.” Papyrus seemed a bit more interested now. “How does the time an-mally work?”

“Anomaly,” Gaster corrected. He picked up a piece of paper. “So imagine this paper is time.” He gently ran his hand into it. “I can't move through time like this. But if an anomaly occurs,” Gaster tore a hole in the center of the paper, “It rips a hole in time, that I can pass through. The bigger the hole, the farther I can travel.”

“What causes the holes?” Papyrus seemed very intrigued for once.

“It would seem to be very high concentrations of Determination, or DT. We also need DT to run the Time Machine.”

Sans pondered for a moment. “How will we get that?” Determination did not form naturally in monsters, and could be very hazardous to their health.

“Scoot over Papyrus.” Gaster laid out some blueprints on the table. 

Sans eyes grew large. A device to make determination? “Woah, that looks complicated.” Sans marvelled at the blueprints. 

“And here are the blueprints to build the time machine.” Gaster lifted up the first set of blueprints to show his son the other one.

“Why are you showing me all this?”

“Sans, I don't ask this next question lightly, but I need an assistant. And who better than my own son?”

Sans eyes sparkled. “No joke?”

Gaster went behind one of his machines and pulled out another lab coat. “No joke. You can help too, Papyrus.” Gaster smiled at his two sons.

For the next few weeks, Sans and Gaster worked on perfecting all the machines needed to make the time machine work. Papyrus even helped from time to time. Although he got bored easily, or overly frustrated with some of Gaster’s jokes.

Gaster was screwing something together under the time machine. “Hey, Pap, can you hand me that wrench?”

Papyrus, who had been scribbling a drawing with some crayons, stood up and grabbed it. He brought it over.

“Hey, kiddo, did I ever tell you about the day your mother and I got married?” Gaster asked, with a bit of a chuckle.

“No?” Papyrus looked confused.

“It was so emotional. Even the cake was in tiers.”

The joke processed through Papyrus’s head. “DAD!” He shouted, stomping the ground.

Sans popped out from behind the machine. “Nice one dad.”

“You two are impossible! I am going to play with Undyne. We are gonna be in the Royal Guard someday!” Papyrus struck a dramatic pose, his red scarf blowing back even though there was no wind.

“But wait! I have developed a sudden irrational fear of elevators!” Gaster said in mock horror.

Papyrus looked at him a confused look, “But there are elevators all over the lab?”

“It’s okay, I am taking steps to avoid them.” Gaster laughed.

“UGH DAD!” Papyrus pounded out of the room.

Gaster just chuckled some more. “He really has the best responses.”

“Yeah,” Sans laughed. 

There was a beeping noise from the Time Anomaly Detector. Sans rushed over. “Look dad! A time anomaly just occurred.”

Gaster rushed to his side. “That's perfect! We can use it to test the time machine tomorrow.”

Sans looked at little concerned. “Is it ready for testing yet?”

“We have to test it sometime. We have enough DT stored up. No fear Sans! We are scientists!”

Sans laughed a bit, he loved when his dad got all dramatic. “Let's do it then!”

“For now, let's grab a burger at Grillby’s with your mother.” 

“Heck yeah!” Sans cheered.

The next day, back at the lab, Gaster spoke to his children. He lifted his hands up as Sans dimmed the lights.

“Dark, darker, yet darker.”

Sans shut off the lights completely now.

“The darkness keeps growing.”

The only light in the room came from screen on the time machine. “The shadows cutting deeper.”

Gaster paused, and analyzed the time machine. “Photon readings negative.”

He turned back to Sans and Papyrus, his face dark with shadows. “This next experiment seems...very, VERY INTERESTING.”

Gaster motioned for Sans to bring back on the lights. “What do you two think?”

Sans laughed and applauded. “That was awesome!”

“Dad, you really like to play mad scientist don't you?” Papyrus asked.

Gaster just grinned. “Life is too boring if you take everything seriously. Now Sans, if you would please, hook up the DT to the Time Machine? Papyrus, can you get me the Time Anomaly Detector?”

The two boys got to work, as Gaster input various numbers into the time machine. “Alright boys, I think it's all set to go. I am only going back a few minutes, so if everything goes right, you'll probably see me walk right back in that door as soon as I leave.” Gaster could hardly hide his excitement.

Sans double checked the Royal Scientist’s work. “You look good to go Pops.” 

“Okay, see you soon boys.” Gaster slide his slender frame inside the time machine. Sans started the flow of DT. The machine whirred to life. Sans could feel his soul pounding in his chest. Would the machine really work?

The machine started making a loud banging noise. The lights in the lab started flickering. Sans ran to the front of the Time Machine, and read the screen. “Oh no!” He cried out. There must have been a miscalculation somewhere. They were using far too much DT. If this kept up…

“Papyrus, RUN.” Sans yelled over the sound of the machine. Papyrus seemed stuck in place with fear. 

“Dad?” Papyrus let out a small cry. 

Sans looked inside the machine. Gaster’s face was melting. He was trying to open the door, but the door was also melting. Sans had to get him out of there, and quick. Not knowing what to do, he grabbed one of the weapons his father had created. He tried to blast open the door with it, but the beam bounced off the door and into the ceiling. “Shit!”

Sans ran over to unhook the DT from the machine, even though he know how dangerous that was. He had his hand on the hose when the machine vanished. For a moment everything was still, as if frozen. Then the world came back to life, an explosion centered around where the machine had been burst outwards. Debris hit Sans in the head, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deleted Scene 1:  
> Frisk: Ooooo you said a bad word  
> Sans: really kid, that's what you got out of the story?  
> Frisk: You gotta put a dollar in the swear jar!  
> Sans: do i look like i'm made of money here?  
> Frisk: Nah, you look like you are made of bones!  
> BA DUM TISH
> 
> Deleted Scene 2:  
> Gaster: Papyrus, why didn't the skeleton cross the road?  
> Papyrus: I don't know dad  
> Gaster: CAUSE HE HAD NO GUTS AHAHAHAH  
> Papyrus: OH MY GOD DAD  
> Gaster: Why didn't the skeleton go to the dance?  
> Papyrus: DAD NO  
> Gaster: HE HAD NO BODY TO GO WITH  
> Papyrus: AHHHHHHHHHHHH


	13. Loss

Toriel walked back into the living room and into madness. Fred was frantically cleaning the mantle of his fireplace with what looked like a t-shirt and some windex. Papyrus was ‘helping’ him clean, but really he was just setting up all his action figures on the coffee table while he cackled about “Battle Strategy.” 

“Fred, what are you doing?” Toriel asked in a kind voice.

“The King of all monsters is coming over and my house is a mess!” Fred cried, picking up a photo frame from his mantle and wiping the few specks of dust off it.

“Yes, well I am the Queen of all monsters and you were not panicked about me coming over. Please, sit down, you need to calm down.”

Fred looked defeated, but put down his cleaning supplies, and practically fell onto the couch. He went to go take a sip of his tea, but it seemed to be embroiled in a bitter battle against a robot looking action figure, so he just leaned back. “This isn’t how I expected today to go.” He said with a laugh. “Do you really think that Frisk can time travel?”

Toriel sat down next to him. “Frisk has done so many amazing things. I would not be surprised if they had some kind of time traveling power. In fact, when I first met them, it was as if I had already known them. I even knew that they prefered cinnamon to butterscotch.”

Papyrus looked up from his toys. “YES! I often had that feeling as well.”

Fred pondered for a moment. “Maybe they only had the power in the Underground? That's why they had to go back there?”

Toriel thought, “Guess we will find out when they return.”

…

Frisk and Sans were at the exit to the Hotlands, when Sans made a suggestion. “Kid, why don’t we eat something, I’m wasting away to the bones here!”

“But Sans! We have to hurry!” Frisk said, with a hint of annoyance.

“Buddy, you are cranky cause you are hungry.” 

“Noo!” Frisk whined, but their stomach growled, betraying them. “Okay fine.”

They sat near San's old sentry station while Frisk pulled out the sandwiches and their sweater. It was getting a bit cooler now. They put the sweater on, and giggled as the sleeves went far over their hands, and they flapped them around a bit.

“Little big for you, don’t you think?” Sans asked, biting into one of the sandwiches.

“It used to belong to my mom. Dad said I could have it, but I guess I’ll have to wait until I’m bigger for it to fit.” Frisk rolled up the sleeves. “So, Sans, about what we were talking about earlier…”

“Kid, we don't have to talk about that anymore if you don't want to.” Sans looked conflicted. 

“No, it's okay. Listen, I wanted to, umm, thank you for stopping me.”

Sans recalled the last timeline before Frisk saved them all. Where Sans had offered them Mercy, only to kill them in the end. He had hoped against hope that they wouldn't come back, that this was all just a terrible nightmare. And it worked. 

“No problem kid.” Sans sighed. “Can I ask you a serious question?” 

“Uh, sure?” Frisk took a bite of their sandwich, and it actually didn’t taste bad. Frisk silently thanked Toriel.

“You aren’t planning on resetting the world again, are you?”

Frisk froze, looking down at their sandwich. They took a huge bite and chewed it slowly, not wanting to answer. “I can’t reset anymore Sans.”

“Hmm?” That wasn’t exactly the answer Sans had expected. “What do you mean?”

“I lost all my powers. I tried to save when I was back in the house, errr I guess I should explain saving to you. So sometimes, I get filled with determination. Like back in the Underground when you had that lamp shaped like me. When I found those moments, I can save, and if something bad happens, I can go back there. Cept now I can’t anymore.” Frisk rambled.

Sans had never heard how the power worked before, and he found it fascinating. He almost wished Frisk still had the power so he could see it in action. “Why’d you lose the power?”

“It’s hard to explain. I think it has to do with Chara. I guess when I fell down here, their soul and my soul all got mixed up together.” Frisk made a rolling motion with their hands. “It’s kinda hard to explain, but our souls aren’t together anymore, and Asriel is stuck in a battle with Chara’s soul..”

“Asriel is still alive?” Sans asked.

“He’s Flowey. You remember him right?” 

“What?” Sans gasped.

“Oh gosh, I told you it was hard to explain. Alphys made him alive again when she was doing her experiments with determination. She injected some determination into a flower that happened to have Asriel’s dust on it. So Flowey was born from that. Anyway, long story short, I’m pretty sure Chara was the reason I could save. I had two soul’s worth of determination, but now that I’m down to one, I can’t do it anymore.”

Sans laughed. “That sounds like a really lame plot contrivance to take away your power.” Frisk looked at Sans with confusion. “Hmm, well you know how before it felt like we were in a video game?” Frisk nodded. “Well now it feels like we are in a story.” Sans didn’t like that feeling. He always felt like he wasn’t in control of his own life, like it was always someone else pulling the strings. He didn’t want to be some puppet.

“Actually, Asriel was saying something about that before…” Frisk said, thinking back. “In any case, it’s scary to not have my power to save anymore.” Frisk shivered.

Sans didn't know what to say, so he just smiled. “So how about some of that pie?”

“Only if you continue with your story!” Frisk teased.

 

…

When Sans awoke in the lab, he felt strange. His head hurt, but that wasn’t what was wrong. He couldn't explain it. He felt like he was slipping away, like he was disappearing, like all his memories were being emptied from his head. It was dizzying. 

Sans stood up on shaky legs, his vision blurry. Although he couldn’t quite make it out, he saw a white and red shape across the room.

“Papyrus!” Sans tried to run, but almost tripped over. He grabbed onto a nearby table, trying to regain balance. The shape started moving.

“Hello?” Came the meek voice.

“Papyrus? Are you okay?” Sans still felt as if he was about to fall over, but he steadied himself, and slowly walked over, holding out his arms for balance.

He knelt over next to the other skeleton. He could see him more clearly now. He didn’t seemed harmed. “Hello?” The young skeleton asked again, louder this time.

Sans grabbed ahold of him. Papyrus seemed to become aware of San’s presence, and asked in a questioning voice, “Brother?”

“Oh thank god you are alright.” Sans tightly hugged his brother. 

When he let go, Papyrus looked at him with a confused look. “What are we doing here?”

 

“You don’t remember?” Sans seemed concerned, he felt over his brother’s skull for any bumps. “We were helping dad out, but everything went wrong.”

“Who is Dad?” 

Sans felt light headed. Who was Dad again? Everything was fuzzy. Sans suddenly saw a flash in his head, a vision of a tall skeleton in a lab coat. He held onto that memory. It kept him grounded. “You know Dad. The Royal Scientist. He was making a Time Machine to save all monsters.” Sans repeated the facts more for himself than for Papyrus. Saying them out loud seemed to make them more real.

“I don’t remember that at all.” Papyrus looked confused, and a little scared.

“I need to take you home, I think you’re sick. Can you walk?” Sans stood up, feeling much more steady now. Papyrus stood as well taking his hand.

The two boys made their way down to the River Person. Sans helped Papyrus into the boat, and they both sat silently as the River Person sang a slow song. “Beware the one who is not from this world.”

Sans felt unsettled. When they arrived back in Snowdin, he felt a strange chill run up his back. Normally everyone would greet them when they came back, but now, all he felt was stares. As if no one recognized him. Sans started to panic. He walked more quickly to their house. He swiftly unlocked the door and they went inside. “Mom!” Sans yelled.

There was no response. 

Sans ran up the stairs, and stood in horror. His parents bedroom, normally right in between his and Papyrus’s rooms, it just wasn’t there anymore. Sans ran back down, and yelled at Papyrus to stay in the house. He ran back outside and over to Grillbys. Maybe he would know what was going on. Sans burst through the door to the bar.

“Kid, are you okay?” The flame spirit Grillby hissed, like a dying ember, when he saw Sans.

“Grillby! Something weird is going on? Do you know where my mom is?”

“Are you lost? I’m sorry I don’t know who your mother is.” Grillby’s flames seemed to dim a little in confusion.

“Grillby, you know my mom! She comes here with me and my family all the time.”

“I’ve never seen you before, I’m sorry.”

Sans lost his voice, and just ran back out the door, feeling as if his soul was going to leap out of his body at any moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: THINGS GET DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER


	14. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another warning for this chapter, it's a bit darker than the other ones!

Chara could hear a voice, far in the distance, rolling over them like waves on the beach. “Chara! You have to stay determined. Frisk will be here soon to save us.”

Chara mostly ignored the voice. They were beyond saving, they always had been. Now all they wanted was to rid this wicked world of all humanity. Or something like that. Chara was so very tired now.

Chara closed their eyes, and found themself back there again. That place they could hardly remember now. The house they were supposed to call home.

Chara walked up the sidewalk to the tiny house. Although they had tried very hard to scrub the blood off their sweater, there was still a stain. A kid had punched them in the lip, and it had bleed all over. Chara would be punished.

Chara tried to open the door quietly, but it squeaked anyway. As they opened the door, they could already smell the nauseating scent of alcohol. Chara tried to be quiet, hoping their father was already passed out.

“NO!” A loud shout came from their little sister's room.

Without thinking, Chara dropped their bag and began to run. “Terca!”

Chara flung open the door to their sister’s room, and found their father inside. He had his belt off, and he was looked at his daughter. Terca was curled up in a little ball in the center of the room, sobbing. She was covered in fresh red welts. Chara shook with rage.

“What are you doing!?” Chara screamed.

Their father turned towards Chara, his eyes unfocused. He spoke while slurring his words. “This stupid little bitch thought she could speak back to me. What are you gonna do ‘bout it?”

Chara couldn't even respond, and walked out of the room seething. “Yeah that's right, walk away you coward.” Chara flinched as they heard another whip of the belt.

They entered the kitchen, and opened the drawers. “Where are the knives?” Chara growled under their breath. Then they spotted it, it seemed to be glowing red. Perfect. A wide smile spread across Chara’s face.

They walked back into Terca’s room. Terca wasn't even crying anymore, just frozen in place, her hands covering her face. Good, she wouldn't see this then.

Now there was even more blood on Chara’s sweater, but they wouldn’t be punished now. Chara took a deep breath, almost choking on the deep scent of iron. They would never be punished again. Terca was riding on their back as Chara ran as fast as they could. Terca was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Wh-where are we going Chara?” Terca managed between sobs.

“Mt Ebott.” Chara replied, ignoring Terca as her wails increased.

The climb up the mountain was difficult, but Chara managed. The fresh scents of the clean air and flowers made Chara more determined to reach the peak. They weren't sure what they'd find there, but it had to be better than what they had left behind.

Chara and Terca had almost reached the peak of the mountain. Terca was walking on her own now, and trailing slightly behind Chara. Chara walked backwards for a moment to keep an eye on their sister, when they caught their foot in a root. Before they knew it they were falling, falling, falling.

Chara reached their hands upwards, reaching for anything, but there was nothing. “TERCA!” They screamed.

In the very far off distance, they could hear that voice in reply. “CHARA.”

Chara couldn’t help but to smile. This didn’t matter. They were going to die, but that didn’t matter. At least they had kept Terca safe. At least…

…

Frisk and Sans were in the midst of the Wetlands now. Frisk would from time to time bend down to listen to one of the echo flowers. They all sounded so hopeful, monsters whispering words of happiness as they left to finally see the surface. It made Frisk smile.

“So no one could remember you?” Frisk asked, moving closer to Sans, the Wetlands were colder than they remembered.

“Nope, no one could remember us, or our family. It was as if none of us had ever existed in this world at all.” Sans looked down at Frisk, who had a very sad look in their eyes. “And that's when I discovered something even more bizarre.”

 

…

Sans ran back to his house, desperately pleading in his mind that he was really back in the lab, that this was all just a dream. He opened the door and walked into the lab.

Sans looked back behind him. It was just the door to the lab. Sans tried walking back through it several times, thinking he'd end up back at home, or somewhere else. But no, he was stuck there now. He had no idea how he'd gotten there, but he was almost certain this was a dream, and he just had to wake up sooner or later.

He looked around the lab, back down to the room where the time machine was. It was still there? Sans rushed up to it, hoping his father would still be inside. Sans looked in, and for a fraction of a second, he was certain he saw him, Gaster with his skull cracked and melting. But there was nobody there. Sans was so very confused. Everything in the lab looked normal, as if there had never been an explosion at all. Even the mark on the ceiling from when Sans had fired the blaster was gone. Sans felt like he was a stranger to this lab now. But there was one familiar thing left behind. He spotted the picture Papyrus had been drawing yesterday, a cute picture of Gaster, Papyrus, and Sans smiling. Sans scribbled “Don't forget” on it and stuffed it in his pocket.

Sans wanted to be home. He wanted to wake up now. He walked out of the lab and into his kitchen. It didn't even really surprise him this time. Sans could feel his breathing becoming erratic. His thoughts even more so. “I have to wake up I have to wake up…”

Papyrus, who had been sitting on the couch, thoroughly confused, rushed into the kitchen. “Sans? How did you get here?”

“Papyrus, I am dreaming, I have to wake up!” Sans had lost pretty much all rational thought. If the dream wouldn't end, he'd make it end. He summoned one of his father’s blasters, and pointed it directly at his head.

“SANS NO!” Papyrus screamed, running forward.

“I just want to wake up!” Sans began charging the beam, his soul pounding in his chest like a bird trapped in a cage.

Papyrus grabbed onto Sans and pulled him down just as the beam went off, destroying the sink. Papyrus held onto Sans desperately, sobbing into his hoodie. “Sans no...don't...please don't leave me…”


	15. Dis/Apperance

“Sans! Your story is way too sad, are you trying to make me cry?” Frisk asked, pouting slightly.

“Hey I can't help it if I have a tragic backstory! Don't you know all good heroes have one?” Sans gave a wink. “Hey, look kid, it's my old telescope. You can look through it for free this time.” Sans said, smiling as the kid ran over to it. 

“Hey, wait a second, last time you tricked me.” Frisk stuck out their tongue. “You can't trick me now!”

“Heh, I should know better. You are too smart for me.” Sans turned and walked forward towards the next room. It contained a piece of cheese in a crystal. He was about to make a pun about how cheesy that was, when he noticed that Frisk wasn't behind him anymore. “Uh, kid?”

There wasn't a response. Sans could feel sweat start to bead on his forehead. For a kid in such a hurry, they sure seemed to get sidetracked a lot. Sans returned to the previous room. “Frisk? Are you playing a joke on your old pal?” Sans could feel more sweat forming on his skull. He didn't want to panic, but he could feel fear rising up his neck. “Frisk?” Where had that kid gone?

Sans wasn't one to run, but he didn't want to waste his magic right now, so he really had no choice. He started running back to the other room, worried and scared.

…

Frisk couldn't remember this hallway being here before. They had walked through the Wetlands countless times, and this had never been here before. Frisk felt nervous as they walked down the hallway. There was a strange door in the wall here. It didn't seem to make sense. 

Frisk felt as if a strong gust of wind was pulling them towards the door, despite there being no wind. Frisk put their hand on the door, and pulled it open.

There was a long hallway with a room at the end. Frisk saw something in that room. They couldn't make it out very well. It was like one of those magic eye puzzles their Dad liked so much but Frisk could never seem to get. Something was there, and if Frisk looked just right they could almost make it out, but then it was gone again.

The wind feeling was back again, and Frisk started down the hallway. Their heart was pounding in their chest like it was trying to escape. The closer they got, the easier it was to make out the shape. It was a person? Monster?

Frisk was in front of the shape now, resisting the urge to move another step. This creature before them, a creature both there and not there, had a skull that was fractured in several places. He shimmered and seemed to vanish and reappear with every one of Frisk’s heartbeats. Oddly enough he also appeared to be smiling, it was unsettling. But his eyes, they betrayed the smile on his face, black and full of pain. Frisk reached out to him, hoping to somehow comfort him. As soon as they did, there was a shrill ringing noise that caused Frisk to fall over backwards, covering their ears with their hands. When they looked back up, the creature was gone. There was nothing there.

Frisk was back up on their feet within seconds, and in a full out dash towards the door. They ran so fast they weren't even sure if their feet touched the ground between steps. They didn't even realize where they were going until they ran headfirst into something blue and fuzzy.

“Kid?” Sans voice was strained and tense. “How did you do that?”

Frisk looked up at Sans with terror etched on their tiny face. “I...I don't know what just happened.” Frisk plopped down on the ground, all color draining from their face.

“Woah pal, tell me what happened.” Sans bent down, and very gently put his hand on Frisk’s shoulder.

“I think, I think I saw Gaster.”


	16. Hope/Less

Chara could barely hold on anymore. Asriel’s voice was calling out but they couldn't make out the words anymore. Instead, their thoughts turned back again.

“You are our hope,” all the monsters kept repeating. “You will save us all.”

Chara didn't know how that was possible. They had just fallen down a hole, and lived. They didn't want to live, but they didn't want to die, not without a reason.

In the end their death smelled of buttercups.

Chara and Asriel were one. Chara wanted to hurry and destroy the humans, but Asriel was so sentimental, and wanted to bring their body back to the surface. Chara didn't want to look at it. It reminded them of their old life too much. They were finally really free from it.

They flew together through the barrier, Asriel was scared. Chara was excited. The scent of earth and pine trees filled Chara with excitement. Their plan was about to be fully realized.

The people of the town were waiting outside, they probably had heard them coming. “Kill them!” Chara screamed at Asriel.

“No, I can't do this…” Asriel meekly replied. Chara could smell the saltiness of his tears.

“Let me have control! I will do it!”

That's when Chara saw him. The man they had assumed was long dead. The man they were supposed to call father. And, no it couldn't be…

“That's Chara!” Terca cried out.

“You monster! You killed my child!” Chara’s father threw a rock at them.

Chara couldn't move. This pain felt familiar. They hadn't saved Terca after all. They had done nothing. Everything was for nothing. Chara relinquished control back to Asriel. The people of the town beat them, and Chara was unsure if it was them or Asriel sobbing. Eventually, Asriel ran away, held together only by the tiny amount of determination Chara had left.

Dust, dust, dust. Chara couldn't smell anymore. They were only a soul now. Chara briefly wished this world would just let them finally die, but there would be no release.

…

“I swear there was a door here! And a hallway, I dunno where it went.” Frisk paced back and forth between the two rooms, hoping the hallway and the door would appear again. 

“It's okay buddy. I believe you.” Sans had been shocked at first when Frisk declared that they had seen his father. Sans wondered if Frisk had fallen out of time and space for a moment there. And Gaster being there? It all sounded so weird. Sans wanted to have hope, hope that Gaster was still out there somewhere, just waiting for Sans to find him. That hope, how long had it been since Sans had any kind of hope? And it was all because of Frisk. “Let's go back to my old house, I got something to show you.” Frisk nodded meekly, clearly not wanting to give up their search for the door. “I'll finish my story on the way.”

Sans extended his hand to Frisk, who after a moment of pouting, took it.

…

It took Sans a long time to mentally readjust to this world he didn't exist in. It was hard knowing that everything he had done previously in life hadn't mattered. Would anything he would ever do matter?

Sans snuck into the lab with his new found teleporting powers and transported the time machine to his basement. It was broken now, in a way that Sans had no idea how to fix. Plus Sans had no way to make more DT without the other machine. It was all hopeless. He'd never be able to go back, and stop his father from ever using the machine.

Slowly, but surely, Sans gave up all hope. He couldn't get back there anymore. And one day he realized with his Time Anomaly Detector that timelines kept resetting. Anything he did at any moment could be erased, and he had no way to stop it, since he didn't know the cause. Sometimes he could remember the other timelines, but who knows how many went by without his knowledge.

Sans realized one day, when he was down in his basement, that anything down there would not be reset with timelines. It seemed to be a strange side effect of being near the time machine. Even that made Sans more hopeless. He tried one day to just stay down there, hoping a reset would happen and free him from time. When it did, Sans was still reset, only he knew it was happening as it happened. That felt even worse than normal. Sans had no more hope now. There was nothing left for him but the endless repetition of days. That's when he found it in his lab. 

That picture...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a short chapter and also for no chapter yesterday. I seem to have gotten really sick bleehhh


	17. Lab

Fred sat back on the couch. Papyrus had turned on the television to a show starring Mettaton. He was doing a cooking show, strange for a robot who couldn't eat, or at least Fred assumed robots couldn’t eat. He wasn’t sure how monster robots worked.

It was when Frisk wandered onto set that Fred started paying attention. “What?”

“WOWIE, I remember this episode! It's a blast!” Papyrus laughed.

Fred watched in horror as the robot declared he was going to take his child’s soul. 

“Papyrus,” Toriel interjected when she saw the look on Fred’s face, “Let’s watch something else.”

“But we haven't even gotten to the part with jet packs yet!” Papyrus was laughing again, and Fred put his head in his hands. He didn't remember Frisk mentioning jet packs, or all this much danger.

Fred nearly jumped out of his seat when a knock came from the door. “That must be Asgore,” Toriel said, getting up.

...

The cold winds of Snowdin were howling. It was snowing heavily, coating everything in an even heavier layer of snow. Frisk didn’t like Snowdin like this. It was eerily quiet without any monsters around.

Sans and Frisk made their way through the town until they reached San’s old house. He opened the door to his lab, and they both went inside. Frisk felt unnerved. The lab was still well lit. There were counters filled with blueprints they couldn’t understand, and standing in the far corner, was the time machine. 

“You know Sans, I’ve been thinking?” Frisk said quietly.

“That’s a dangerous thing to do.” Sans said cheerfully.

Frisk didn’t laugh. “I have lots of determination, even without Chara. Maybe I could help you go back and save your dad.”

Sans paused for a moment. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I doubt it would be enough. Besides, it’s still broken and I can’t fix it.”

Frisk put their hand upon the machine, thinking about how they wished they could help Sans. It didn’t seem fair. Sans was helping Frisk out trying to save Asriel and Chara, but they couldn’t even help him. They sighed, and looked inside the machine. It was inky black inside, despite the bright lights.

Sans was rummaging through some drawers when he pulled out a photo. “Take a look at this.”

Frisk went over, and took the photo in their hands. It appeared to be a photo taken on the surface, with Frisk and all their friends. Frisk never posed for a picture like this. They squinted at it. It made their head hurt to look at it. “What’s this?”

“It appeared in here one day, right before you arrived in the Underground for the first time. It’s kinda strange though isn’t it? We never took a photo like this.” Sans took the picture back, looking at it intently.

“Well you said this room is strange right? Can things from even the future appear here?” Frisk pondered.

“Who knows.” Sans shrugged. “I thought maybe you might know something about it.” Sans voice sounded a bit darker than usual. It made Frisk shudder.

“I don’t know anything!” Frisk was more defensive than they meant. They scratched the back of their head nervously. “We really should get going. We are almost at the Ruins. Asriel and Chara are waiting…” Frisk left the lab without waiting for Sans.

…

Asriel looked around the dark room in the ruins. Even with the light flooding down from the surface it still felt very dim in there. He didn’t know how long he’d been waiting, but it felt like forever already. 

Chara’s soul was growing darker. The cracks on it growing slowly deeper. Asriel wasn't sure how much longer it would last. He could stay in this battle forever, but Chara clearly couldn't last much longer.

“CHARA,” Asriel cried out, hoping his voice would keep the soul alive. “ Chara…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter! I rewrote this one more times than you can imagine. I'm okay with how it turned out but not thrilled I guess. Next chapter will be longer and more action packed! #savegoatbro2016


	18. Chara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, while I have you here, check out this animation I'm working on. It's like the prequel to this fanfic, the story of Asriel after he lost Chara and became Flowey. https://youtu.be/i2lsRR9WsEE

Asgore settled onto the couch with a cup of tea. Toriel had explained as best as she could about what was going on, but he was still confused, he would just have to wait until the child returned.

“Howdy, I am Asgore.” He said turning towards the clearly distressed human next to him.

Fred looked to him and extended his hand. Asgore shook it firmly. “It's great to meet you, thank you for taking good care of Frisk while they were in the Underground.”

Asgore scratched the back of his head and gave a little laugh. “Yeah.”

Toriel sat down on the other side of Fred and made an indistinct noise. “Yes, you sure did take good care of them, didn't you?” She sounded sarcastic, and gave Asgore that glare again. “OR maybe you were trying to take their soul and I stopped you.”

Fred looked from Toriel to Asgore, his mouth open. “You tried to take their soul too?”

Asgore felt terrible. “I, I well, I was trying to free my people and…” Asgore’s voice got quiet.

Fred looked even more dismayed. Maybe it was best if he didn't know all the trouble his small child had gotten into. His heart couldn't take it.

“DON'T FIGHT.” Papyrus looked up from his action figures. “YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE HOME SOON, DON'T YOU THINK THEY WOULD WANT TO SEE SMILING FACES?”

Toriel looked from Papyrus to Asgore. “He's right. Our children will be home soon, we should be celebrating, not fighting. I am sorry Asgore.”

“I am as well. For everything.” Asgore gave Toriel a meaningful look.

“I SHOULD MAKE WELCOME HOME SPAGHETTI.” Papyrus laughed, running into the kitchen.

The others couldn't help but to laugh as well. “We should help him before he makes some impastable pasta.” Toriel smiled, standing up. Fred and Asgore joined her with smiles of their own.

…

Frisk and Sans stood at the entrance to the ruins. Sans had been silent since they left his lab. Frisk didn't like that. They wondered if he was mad at them. They didn't know anything about that photo, but they still felt bad. Frisk reached out and knocked on the door.

“Knock knock.”

Sans looked at them, then answered. “Who's there?”

“Giuseppe.”

“Giuseppe who?”

“Giuseppe my apology?” Frisk said with a smile.

Sans gave a small laugh. “Oh buddy, you don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. Everything today has been a bit crazy.”

Frisk nodded, feeling a bit better now. They opened the door slowly, feeling the warmth coming from inside. They didn't know how the Ruins could be so much warmer than Snowdin when they were right next to each other, it was probably some kind of magic.

They headed inside together. As the walked through Toriel’s old house and into the ruins proper, Sans started talking. “Pal, why do you even want to save Chara? They were the one who made you do those terrible things, right?”

Frisk felt conflicted. They played with the sleeves of their sweater, still slightly damp from the snow, before answering. “I don't think it was all Chara’s fault. They were in my head, right? Telling me things, bad mean awful things. But maybe I was curious as well? I don't know. It's hard to tell which parts of me were Chara and which were really me.”

They walked past some long deactivated traps. “I don't think Chara is all bad either. They were hurt, like me. They only wanted to get, like, revenge on everyone who hurt them. But that got out of control until they just wanted everyone to be as hurt as they were. Does that make sense?”

Sans didn't answer right away. He seemed lost in thought. “Yeah. So you think if you save them, they can see the good in people again? How are you planning on saving them?”

Frisk nodded, stepping through some spikes that retracted before they could get close. “I have a plan, I dunno if it'll work. I want to bring their soul back to the surface, and Asriel too. Asriel is a plant so that won't be hard, but Chara’s soul looked almost broken already.”

“Kid must have a lot of determination to have lasted this long without a body, don't worry, we will figure it out.” Sans smiled, and Frisk returned it.

They were in the room before the room where Frisk had fallen so long ago now. They paused, suddenly full of doubt and fear. Could they really pull this off? 

“Hm, what's up kid? Feelin’ spooked?” Sans asked.

“I am really nervous all of a sudden.” Frisk looked at their feet. 

“We walked all this way, we got this,” Sans said grabbing their hand and moving forward.

They entered the room. It was dark except for the light above shining down upon a patch of golden flowers. Asriel was among them, and so was the faded soul of Chara.

“Frisk!” Asriel yelled. “Hurry! Chara’s soul, it's gonna break!”

Frisk broke out of Sans grasp and ran over. They observed Chara’s soul, it looked so timid and weak. Frisk reached out for it when there was a sudden blast of red light.

Frisk covered their eyes. A voice echoed through the small room, it was their voice. “You fools! You think you can save me?”

The soul broke free from Asriel. It hovered over him, and there was another bright flash of light.

Frisk cried out, “No!”

It was too late.

Chara’s soul and Asriel were gone. Instead there was creature standing facing away from them. A voice rang out. “It's been so long since I had my own body.”

They turned around, bright red eyes glowing. They didn't look like a child, or a monster. They had long arms and legs, and were much taller than Frisk or Sans. They wore a green and yellow striped sweater with black pants and boots, a heart locket around their neck. They had horns growing out from their shaggy brown hair, much like the ones Asriel had. 

They spoke in a booming voice, opening their mouth to reveal sparkling sharp teeth.

“Frisk, are you there? It's me your best friend.”

A sudden blast sent Frisk flying back. They looked up, and saw the creature, no demon, was floating, their arms stretched out and their smile crooked.

“CHARA DREEMURR.”

The true final battle was beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sketch I did of the Chara Demon: http://stormoftara.tumblr.com/post/142356652600


	19. Battle

Fisk could feel their soul on their chest. They didn't have a choice. It looked like they were going to have to fight.

Sans pulled Frisk to their feet. “Stay back, I can handle them.” 

Frisk could see Sans soul glowing in front of him.Frisk shook their head. “I can't let you do that Sans. If you get hurt I can't just reload a save anymore.”

“Same goes for you,” Sans winked at Frisk. “You know how good I am at dodging.”

The demon known as Chara didn't let their argument go on any further. “Don't be foolish. You can't fight me. I will take your soul Frisk, and then I will control the timelines!”

Chara rose their arms in the air. When they brought them down, a rain of knives came flying down. Sans grabbed Frisk and teleported slightly away.

“Chara, you don't want to do this, I know you were hurt, but people aren't all bad.” Frisk pleaded from Sans arms.

“You know nothing! You know why people are nice to you? Because they want to use you for something. Nobody ever really cares for someone else.”

Chara formed two giant swords that looked just like the real knife Frisk had used when they had done the very bad thing. Chara swung them down, Sans dodging out of their way by inches.

“I care about you Chara,” Frisk pleaded again.

“LIAR!” Chara charged at them, the two swords in hand, Sans barely managing to dodge.

“Kid you gotta let me attack. I can't keep dodging forever.” Sans had beads of sweat dripping down his face.

“Put me down, you know I can handle myself.” Frisk said quickly. 

Sans complied. He had a plan. “Let me have your backpack pal.” 

Frisk quickly handed him it, and turned back to Chara. “Please Chara, Mom is waiting for you. She loves you.”

“How DARE you call her that.” Chara charged at them, swords in hand. Frisk nimbly dodged. They had gotten pretty good at avoiding attacks after all their time in the Underground.

“She is my mom now too Chara. And she wants you for no other reason than she loves you. Asgore too. Please, we can still go back.” Frisk desperately pleaded.

Sans flanked Chara from behind. He waited until they were distracted with Frisk, and summoned one of his father's blasters.

Before he knew what was happening, he found a knife in his side. He fell over, the red leaking out from inside him.

“Comedian! You think you are so clever.” Chara was hovering above him now. Sans smile was fading, he closed his eyes. “I am in control now. I know everything you are doing. I can read the story as it unfolds.”

Sans was still now, the puddle of crimson pooling under him. Chara gave him a wicked smile before turning back to Frisk. “Oh small child, savoir of monsters, looks like I killed your friend. And you can't even reload a save now. He is dead forever. Unless…”

Chara flew up right in Frisk’s face, holding a sword against their neck. “You give me your soul.”

Frisk quickly kicked Chara in the leg, and managed to duck away from their sword. “Sans?” They cried pitifully.

Chara laughed. “You can't escape from me!” Chara was too quick for them. They brought a sword crashing down across Frisk's chest. “What?” Chara said in sudden confusion.

Frisk looked down, but there wasn't a mark on them.

“Oh no way! You are protected by plot armor?” Chara sneered in disgust.

Frisk was scared. Sans was gone and it was all their fault. Even if they could save Asriel and Chara...Sans wouldn't come back.

Frisk tried to load their save.

They couldn't. 

Frisk tried to restart the chapter.

They couldn't.

Frisk tried to call out for help.

“But nobody came.” Chara said with a wicked smile. “It seems we are at an impasse. You can freely give me your soul, or if you continue to refuse, then I will trap you here in this chapter forever, until you realize there's no other option. Hey, when you do, we can reset this idiotic world. Your precious skeleton will be alive again.”

Frisk pulled their face into a mask of determination. “No!”

“You leave me no choice.”

Chara ended the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chara deletes the author's notes. They weren't important anyway.


	20. errOr: CHaPter tItLe NOt FOUND

He lived in between the lines now. All the sentences the author had deleted, the words rewritten and changed. The spelling and and grammatical errors. The formatting that wasn't quite right.

Things that were not meant to exist, but still did.

Just like him.

He watched the two of them. He didn't like where the story was heading. Towards a bad ending.

The small child had seen him. He wanted to warn them of the danger. He knew what the author was planning. He could see it all written out in that other file. The one titled “Places to Go, Story Outline.” But he couldn't find his voice anymore. It was torn away from him like everything else had been. He lost form. He could no longer be seen.

But he was still there.

He watched them battle against the demon. He watched as his son fell down. That was fine. His son was so smart and he was so proud of him. He protected the child from harm, but the demon had trapped them all in that chapter. Never ending, no more progression, the world brought to zero.

And now?

He wouldn't let the story end like this. He didn't have much power left, but with what little he did…

Gaster would save this story. There would still be a happy ending.

He gently knelt next to his son. He placed his hand on his chest as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

 

***SOMETHING HAS CHANGED.**


	21. True Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100+ Kudos?! Thank you everyone! The story is almost over now, but I'm happy so many people got to read it. I started writing it in November, but I didn't start publishing it here until much later. It's been a long and crazy ride, thank you for joining me on it! :D

**[*A song starts to play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbWZQ3zssw4) **

 

“How is this possible?” Chara screamed out at Frisk. “How are we in another chapter? What did you do?”

Frisk hadn't done anything. They hardly even knew what Chara was talking about. They could find no words.

Chara screamed as if in agony. They pounced on Frisk, pinning the child to the cold rocky ground. “You are so stupid. Don't you know how many times you have already reset the world before? You don't remember, only I remember. You always reset in the end. Don't think you can change the ending now!”

“I won't reset! I don't care what you say.” Frisk’s eyes were welling up with tears. “Even if what you say is true, I can't take away my friend’s happiness. They deserve this happy ending. I will save them!”

Chara pushed their arm against Frisk’s throat, making it hard for them to breathe. “I am so tired of your savior complex. That's why you always reset. You just have to save everyone, don't you? It won't happen, you can't do it. I used to try to save people too. I tried to save my sister, and I couldn’t. And then I was supposed to save all the monsters, and I couldn't do that either. I always tried to save everyone.” Chara let go of Frisk, sitting up and rubbing their eyes. “Why won't anyone SAVE ME?”

Chara stood up, but then knelt down again next to Frisk. “Please, just let me win this time.” Chara put their head in their hands, and seemed resigned. Chara didn't speak anymore.

Frisk looked at Chara with pity. They didn't want to take away the happiness they had made, but...Sans. Frisk could feel their heart breaking. None of this would matter if they didn’t have Sans anymore. Frisk really had no choice here. They would have to give Chara their soul. They would have to reset the world. They couldn’t imagine going on in a world without Sans.

Frisk looked over at Sans one last time, feeling utterly defeated. Except something was different. They saw a glimmering shadow above him fading in and out of existence. It looked like the shape that they had seen before in that room that didn't exist.

Sans was next to Frisk before they could even blink, a red stain on his hoodie still. He winked and showed Frisk an empty ketchup bottle. “Heh, I’m quite the trickster.” Sans handed them the backpack. “It’s all up to you now kid.”

Frisk looked inside it. Of course. Hadn't they been protecting it all this time? Keeping it from being lonely? It was time to give it back to its true owner.

Sans stood back a bit, his smile large. He could feel a comforting hand on his shoulder, even if he couldn't see him, he was there. He would always be there. And Sans wasn’t sure, and he didn’t know how, but he knew deep down that Gaster had saved him.

“Chara.” Frisk spoke softly. Chara looked up, their red eyes dim and sad. Frisk didn't say anything else, they just held out the teddy bear to them.

“How?” Chara looked at it, their eyes widening.

“We all kept it safe for you. Come now Chara. Let's be a family.”

Chara’s face softened. Slow tears made their way down their face. Chara looked at Frisk as if realizing something. “We, we are family?”

Frisk nodded. They could feel tears falling down their own face as well. They held out their arms to Chara. Chara practically fell into them. There was no need for words anymore. Frisk could feel Chara changing, becoming smaller, the horns vanishing. They held each other for some time.

Chara finally said, “I don't want to let go...but.”

Chara let go. They stood up. “There is something better I have to do.” Their face was full of determination.

Chara held out their arms. A bright red heart, no longer broken, appeared before them. “Thank you Frisk.”

A flash of white light filled the room. When it cleared there was another shape standing there.

Asriel.


	22. Home

Frisk: Dad call Grandma over?  
Dad: What? Why?  
Frisk: We are coming home. It's time for a family reunion.

…

Asriel stood in his old bedroom. He looked around, feeling nostalgic for the life he once had. How long had it been since he had felt anything? Much less the hope blooming inside him, along with the fear. He put his hand to his chest, feeling the soul of Chara beating within.

“I'm scared Chara. I don't know what I am going to tell Mom and Dad. What if they hate me for what I've done? What if they don't want me back?”

Chara whispered in his head. “Don't worry. We will do it together. Frisk will be there too. We are a family now.”

Sans poked his head into the room. He had been eating all the ketchup and other assorted condiments in the kitchen, trying to regain his magic for the return trip. “Ready to go kiddos?”

Asriel took one last look at his room and smiled. “Yup! Let's go home.”

…

Toriel heard the door open. Frisk had texted their father that they were on their way back. Did that mean they had done it? Now, if she just turned around, she would really see them again?

Asgore had already stood up and cried out, “Asriel!” Toriel felt her soul racing. It really was true.

Toriel finally stood up and looked. There, standing in the entrance way holding hands with Frisk, it was him! It was her precious child. She didn't think. She ran over and hugged him tightly, tears pouring down her face. “My child, my child. Asriel.”

They stayed like that for awhile. Asgore joined in on the family hug. Eventually Toriel stood up, wiping her face full of tears away. She looked to Frisk, “Thank you my child. But where is Chara?”

Frisk was about to respond, when another voice interrupted. “Did you say Chara?” It was Frisk’s grandma, who had been standing in the back of the room near Fred.

Asriel stepped forward, his eyes glowed red, and his voice changed. “Mom, Terca, it's me. Chara.”

…

One Year Later

Frisk sat outside of Toriel’s school, watching Asriel/Chara chase Papyrus around while he laughed in increasingly higher tones. Alphys and Undyne were watching Mettaton while he was putting on an impromptu show for them. Asgore and Toriel were planting some flowers in the garden. Frisk couldn't help but to giggle themself, everyone looked so happy.

“Hey pal, why aren't you playing?” Sans was suddenly at Frisk’s side. He was wearing a different hoodie today. Lately he'd taken to actually changing his clothes on a day to day basis. 

“I like watching them play. Asriel and Chara look so happy now. It's hard to believe that Chara once made me do all those terrible things.” Frisk remembered having to explain to everyone about saves, resets, and the bad timelines. It had been horrible to describe, but everyone forgave them so easily. Frisk was glad they had their new siblings with them when they talked about it. Otherwise they never would've gotten through it.

Frisk looked at Sans. They could see that shimmering shadow again. Gaster. He seemed to have taken to following Sans around like some kind of ghost dad. Frisk smiled. “Hey Gaster.”

Sans laughed. “He said, ‘Hay is for horses’.”

“Gaster!” Frisk laughed. It seemed that only Sans could really understand him for now. “Has Papyrus remembered anything else?” 

“Bits and pieces. It makes me so happy he even remembers anything at all. He can even see Dad sometimes too.” San’s smile looked more genuine than Frisk could ever recall it being.

“Hey! You nerds!” A shout came across the yard. It was Undyne. “Let's take a picture!”

Everyone gathered in, while Mettaton took their photo. Frisk looked at it, a song in their heart. They finally had their

 

HAPPY ENDING.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Fun fact, I wrote most of this while I was standing in line at the grocery store XD
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, you might like my other one, The Guardian of Happiness. It has Frisk/Sans shipping though. I am working on a couple of other things, including a fic about Papyrus trying to cheer up a sad Frisk and another shipping fic involving Sans and the Reader, on an epic RPG style quest. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment, or stop by my tumblr! http://stormoftara.tumblr.com/
> 
> See you guys later! :D


End file.
